A final draft of Microsoft's Palladium consultation white paper appears to have escaped, and is currently being hosted by Neowin.net. Microsoft intends to open Palladium up for discussion, but it's not as yet clear to us whether this means it will be distributing the white paper to all and sundry, or whether it envisages a more restricted distribution list. In any event we haven't been able to nail down anywhere on the Microsoft site you can get it,* or any mention of the Microsoft Content Security Business Unit, which authored it.

Microsoft is to charge for MSN 8.0, one way or another, and that kind of completes the circle, doesn't it? Giving away the browser for free unleashed many demons, not least of them the Four Attorneys of the Apocalypse, but now you'll either get MSN 8.0 bundled with MSN Internet access or, if you don't have an MSN sub, you'll have to pay if you want it.

An agreement signed recently by representatives of European employers and trade unions is to form the basis of European rules on teleworking, and will become law in May 2005. The agreement was made via a consultation process initially launched by the European Commission in 2000, as part of the process of "modernising and improving employment relations."

HP has officially confirmed that it has suspended 150 staff as part of its investigation into the misuse of corporate email system in distributing "inappropriate material". Around 60 permanent and 90 contractors are under investigation.